POPULARITY
Does grilling meat increase your risk of getting cancer? Maybe. But it isn't that simple. This episode begins with a discussion on the link between grilling meat and cancer and how you can minimize that risk. (http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/does-grilling-really-cause-cancer) If you look at episodes of the original Star Trek TV series, Scotty talks to the computer to get it to perform tasks on board the Starship Enterprise. Today we are doing something similar with Siri and Alexa and other voice computing apps. So, is voice computing the beginning of a big change in computing that will make typing on a keyboard obsolete? Or will voice computing really just be for setting a timer, finding a restaurant nearby and playing music on a speaker in the kitchen - and that's about it? Journalist James Vlahos joins me to discuss this. James is a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Popular Science, Scientific American, the Atlantic, GQ, and National Geographic – and he is author of the book Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work (https://amzn.to/2YinseC) What do brands such as Adidas, Ikea, Nutella, Porsche and Hermes have in common? They are all name brands that many of us mispronounce. Listen to hear if you've been pronouncing them correctly or not. http://www.businessinsider.com/brand-names-mispronounced-2016-5 Anyone who has worked for an incompetent boss has likely wondered - how did they get that job? There are some fascinating reasons why so many leaders in key positions seem to be totally incompetent and in over their head. And the topic has been researched by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at University College in London and Columbia University in New York. He is also author of the book Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders. (https://amzn.to/2Jxqk37). Listen as he explains how and why this happens and how to stop it. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Join the Moink Movement today! Go to https://MoinkBox.com/SYSK RIGHT NOW and get FREE filet mignon for a Year! Get a $75 CREDIT at https://Indeed.com/Something To TurboTax Live Experts an interesting life can mean an even greater refund! Visit https://TurboTax.com to lear more. Truebill is the smartest way to manage your finances. The average person saves $720 per year with Truebill. Get started today at https://Truebill.com/SYSK Take control of your finances and start saving today! To see the all new Lexus NX and to discover everything it was designed to do for you, visit https://Lexus.com/NX https://www.geico.com Bundle your policies and save! It's Geico easy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Teri welcomes James Vlahos, Founder and CEO at HereAfter, a company that uses conversational AI to help people save and interactively share life stories so that they never have to lose the voices of people they love.Welcome, James!HereAfter is an AI platform designed to allow people to have spoken "conversations" with loved ones who have passed away, based on voice recordings taken while they are still alive. The conversations are made possible by platforms like Amazon Alexa. James is also the creator of DADBOT, a veteran tech journalist for The New York Times, and author of “Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think” His book addresses the economic, cultural, and psychological impact of conversational AI and how it’s altering our traditional perception of human consciousness.His Tech JournalismHe wrote about diverse technology oriented topics, from the HyperLoop to businesses using smell to lure customers into making purchases.From 2015, he developed an interest in Siri and Alexa because he was fascinated by the fact that what we had been learning from science fiction about personified beings who could have conversations with us was actually becoming a reality.He wanted to write about the two voice assistants but ended up approaching it from a different angle, instead writing about how Hello Barbie was created by a company called PullString. PullString was acquired by Apple.For him, writing about that was a great way to get into how to create a dialogue system and teach a computer how to talk. It led him deeper into voice technology.Writing His BookWhen he did the Hello Barbie project, he could see that it was just the tip of the iceberg, and he could see that Amazon, Apple, and Google were battling each other in the voice technology race, and so he knew there was great potential in the space.He realized he couldn’t just fit everything about voice technology into an article so he decided to put it in a book.HereAfterHe was inspired to create it when his late father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had a few months to live.James did a conventional oral history project with his father, recording him talking all about his life. He got hours of recordings and had them professionally transcribed.Around the same time, he was involved in conversational AI while researching for his book, and he realized that voice technology was a new way to share those recordings of his father in such a way that he could somehow hold on to him even after he had passed way.He created a conversational app that could be accessed on Facebook Messenger. One could create messages on the app and get audio/video clips from it. He called it the DADBOT.DADBOT has been the basis for everything he has worked on and created ever since.They are working on making HereAfter a scalable technology that anyone can use. They are on Amazon Alexa exclusively and expect to be on Google Assistant soon.They have received mixed feedback from the market. For example, most people want to wait before they record their memories, almost like how people always put off writing a will.Signing Up on HereAfterOne starts by signing up for the service, after which they are orally interviewed by someone in the company.The company then records the person’s life story in a very structured manner with the end product in mind.The audio is then edited and put into the HereAfter system so that when an end user asks a question about that person via Alexa, they hear that person’s voice answering them from the actual recording of that person.They are currently developing an app that will do the interviewing.HereAfter has positively impacted families and enabled them to capture the life stories of their loved ones for the benefit of their present and future family members.Remembrance Versus ReplicationScience fiction movies like HER show us a world where people can have relationships with AI beings on their phones and other devices, which brings up the question of whether we could possibly continue relationships with loved ones who have passed away through technologies like HereAfter.James reiterates that HereAfter is just an advanced tool for remembrance rather than for replication.List of resources mentioned in this episodeHereAfter WebsiteJames on LinkedinThe Comprehensive Flash Briefing Formula CourseThe Voice DenVocalID.aiOther useful resources:Voice in Canada: The Flash BriefingComplete List of Alexa CommandsAlexa-Enabled and Controlled Devices in CanadaTeri Fisher on TwitterAlexa in Canada on TwitterAlexa in Canada Facebook PageAlexa in Canada Community Group on FacebookAlexa in Canada on InstagramPlease leave a review on iTunesShopping on Amazon.ca See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this week’s #DataTalk, we chat with James Vlahos about his latest book, Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think. James Vlahos is the author of TALK TO ME: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way that We Live, Work, and Think (Houghton Mifflin, March 26, 2019). Covering the business, technological, and cultural ramifications of the voice revolution, the book has been described by readers such as Wired editor-in-chief Nicholas Thompson as "brilliant and essential." Vlahos is also the creator of the Dadbot, a conversation-making program that shares the personality and life story of his late father, and of an Alexa skill, The Voice Computing Book. Vlahos contributes to the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Popular Science, The Atlantic, and GQ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our upcoming data science live video chats.
What happens when you have a deep dive into AI for an hour? You find out Jeff is a closet Taylor Swift fan (according to a chatbot) and Francis has real fear of a robotic Barbie. This all happens thanks to author James Vlahos joining the show who, coincidentally, wrote a book about AI called Talked to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think. That's right people, loopholes are real and they are spectacular.
Does cooking food on the grill increase your risk of getting cancer? The answer is – maybe. But it isn’t that simple. This episode begins with a discussion on which foods may or may not increase cancer risk and how you cook that food may make all the difference. (http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/does-grilling-really-cause-cancer)In the old Star Trek TV show (filmed about 50 years ago), Scotty used to talk to the computer on board the starship Enterprise. That was how he communicated his commands. Fast forward to today and we are now doing the same thing with Siri and Alexa. So, is voice computing the beginning of a new revolution in computing that will unshackle us from the keyboard? Or is it just a quick way to set a timer, play music and find the nearest fast food restaurant - but not much more? Journalist James Vlahos joins me to discuss this. James is a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Popular Science, Scientific American, the Atlantic, GQ, and National Geographic – and he is author of the book Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work (https://amzn.to/2YinseC)What do Adidas, Ikea, Nutella, Porsche and Hermes have in common? They are all name brands that many people mispronounce. Listen to hear if you’ve been pronouncing them correctly or not. http://www.businessinsider.com/brand-names-mispronounced-2016-5Have you ever worked for an incompetent boss and wondered how he or she ever got to where they are? There are interesting reasons why so many leaders in high places are incompetent – and it has been researched by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at University College in London and Columbia University in New York. He is also author of the book Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders (and how to fix it). (https://amzn.to/2Jxqk37). He joins me to explain why this happens and how to stop it.This Week’s Sponsors-LinkedIn. Go to www.LinkedIn.com/podcast to get $50 off your first job posting.-Ancestry. Go to www.Ancenstry.com/something to get your Ancestry DNA kit for only $50 (offer expires 5/13/19)-Better Help. Go to www.BetterHelp.com/SYSK to get 10% off your first month of counseling-Away Travel. For $20 off a suitcase go to www.awaytravel.com/something and use the promo code: something-Capital One. www.Capitalone.com. What’s in your wallet?
Technology has become more hands-free, thanks to voice-activated digital assistants like Alexa and Siri. Have a question? Ask away. But in the future it won’t be just a matter of using this technology to find out facts or to determine the best route home. James Vlahos, author of “Talk to Me - How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Think,” explains how companies are trying to make the Alexas and Siris of the world more sociable. Voice tech that can apply background knowledge and understand context will be able to have more complex conversations with users. Vlahos says that these devices will create a more human-like experience, and could be used in customer service, healthcare, counseling and industries which require a robot with a more social side.